problems tacking up

[XjenX]

if u go on the stable with tack she turns aand walks away from u if u finally manage to get hold of her she jerks her heqd right up so you cant reach her. has anyone else went through this? any tips? some days i cant even get to ride her due to this. when the tack is finally on her she trys to run to the arena she likes getting ridden but not getting tacked up

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Do you not have the horse tied up? if not, then tie it up to tack up

 

[debserofe]

You could try having the tack in the school and taking her down in a head collar and line - whilst holding her (not tight) pick up the saddle and walk towards her, if she walks away, continue to walk with her (holding the saddle) - don't follow her, get in front of her drive line and block her eye - when she stops, stop, when she looks at you, stop and take a step back with the saddle. Repeat until you are able to approach her with saddle and she doesn't move away, repeat a few times until she doesn't even look to move away when you approach with the saddle! Finish there and take her back to her stable or field still holding the saddle (if your saddle is heavy, then borrow someones for this stage!). Repeat the process on day 2, progressing to her sniffing the saddle and being able to touch her with it. Day 3 move to placing the saddle on her back - if she moves away, walk with her until she stands still and then remove the saddle, repeat until she stands still without moving as you place the saddle on - finish! Day 4 you should be able to move to doing up the girth (not too tight) and walking her around quietly in it! Next, bridling - preparation for bridling begins with your halter, asking her to lower her head on cue by first putting pressure (firm at first but with the intention that it will reduce to a light touch and ultimately, when she sees the halter, she will see that as a cue to lower her head!) on her poll, with your hand. Transfer that to the bridle, offering the bit (have a treat in your hand - nothing wrong with food treats if used correctly) and when she picks up the bit, praise her and then remove - gently! Horses remember the last time something happened so if her last experience of the bit was that it was yanked out of her mouth, she will assume that bits clank against their teeth and that hurts! If you are still having problems then I would rule out any pain issues as, like I said, the remember what happened before hurt so if she has been pain, she will remember that, even if she is no longer in pain - then it becomes behavioural and the above process starts again!

 

[Pinkvboots]

Do you not have the horse tied up? if not, then tie it up to tack up

agree with this and stand on a bucket or something to put the bridle on.

 

[debserofe]

agree with this and stand on a bucket or something to put the bridle on.

And what happens when you don't have a bucket to hand? Better to have them reach down to you! It may seem time consuming to get them to reach down to you but it is time well spent - I have a 17hh IDxTB that used to throw his head in the air so it used to take 3 people to tack him up (2 to hold him down and 1 to get the tack on him!) - now, having done the work, he can be bridled by my 10 yr old granddaughter as she holds the bridles, he reaches down and picks up the bit himself - it may be seen as a party trick by some but has saved me (or anyone) from fighting with him to get tacked up, which means that neither of us is stressed or anxious before getting into the saddle - a lot of riding problems start on the ground!! Tieing them up is fine but not if it is used as a way of restricting the head whilst putting pressure on presenting tack - if the horse is genuinely scared, it could pull back and break free (then you have another problem to deal with) or kick out! Better to have a horse that is ok with you approaching with tack before asking it to tie up and get tacked up!

 

[apachediamond]

I've just reintroduced mine to tack after a period of time off, tying up (or having someone to hold him) and repetition has been key for us. Little chunks each day, starting off with getting him used to having face/forelock brushed with his head low enough that i don't have to reach up above my normal shoulder height.

Saddle sniff one night, saddle on but not girthed the next night, saddle on and girthed and so on, making sure everything is positive, other wise we restart the process again. He will now happily stand with just his headcollar on, not tied up to be tacked up.

 

[XjenX]

i like the idea of that lol

 

[XjenX]

turned out to be simple if i gave her a few mints she would let me put the reins over she still was a bit funny with the bit but alot better and bo problem with sadle so bribe with few mints is what im doing

 

[MagicMelon]

Bribery goes a long way To be fair to horses, I probably wouldnt like a freezing cold metal bit being put in my mouth either - they put up with a lot from us!